The Riders Live Again (On Hiatus)
by celestia193
Summary: Sequel to Through Emerald Eyes. I do not own Inheritance or the characters from the series, thank you Christopher Paolini for your amazing contribution to literature. The OCs are mine, the plot came out of my brain. Eragon and Ciara face their own challenges with putting the Dragon Riders back together. Apprentices, dragons and accidents abound. Old friends return. T now, M later
1. New Home

Many small islands dot the ocean around the large island. Eragon smiles at the sight and proclaims that this place is perfect to raise dragons and Dragon Riders. He points to the volcano at the northern tip of the island, deciding that we should build a fortress there, with a city below it.

Once we land, Sorin and Saphira make a point of flying over the island to look for a good place to land. They also plan to make a mental survey of the species on the island, as well as which ones are appropriate for dragons to eat, and which ones are appropriate for humans, elves, dwarves and urgals to eat.

The elves dock the ship and agree to make reports on the condition of the island, with reports on terrain, fertile ground for agriculture, and where the oldest and strongest trees are. Eragon and I run towards the mountains. We have to take measure of the land and decide where to put each of the buildings. We would need an armory, a library, gardens for flowers, herbs and vegetables, living quarters suited to each of the races, as well as a council chamber, a court, and walls to encircle our new city. Eragon had a vision of a city to rival Doru Araeba. And with thirty extra elves, who have volunteered to be lookouts, ship crews, and assist with the construction of the city, the work begins smoothly.

If we tunnel into the mountain, we could make a chamber to hold dragon eggs until they are ready to hatch, as well as a storehouse for the Eldunari. Eragon notices large white veins of rock in three of the mountains to the east, marble. He smiles and says that we should have no problem gathering building materials for our city, since the island has clearly never been inhabited.

And for the next year and a half, we, the elves, and our dragons build the large white and green city that stands at the base of the volcano. And for good measure, we dig a series of moats around the city, in case the volcano decides to erupt. The city walls are fortified with granite and magic, the buildings inside are as massive as the ones in Vroengard, and because of that, the city spans almost ten miles across.

When the armory and library are built, we put away all of the books and swords, assigning a couple of elves to each building to sort and classify the weapons by hilt type, length, color and combat type. The combat types are the most important, because they have to match up well with how the owner fights. Eragon uses a hand and a half long-sword, which can be used alone or with a shield and is shaped for a lunge or cut. I use two thinner swords with slight curves that are good for slashing, and can be very effective when used in a thrust, but I never use a shield because locking the swords together can block effectively.

And as we come into summer, with the elves preparing for the summer solstice celebrations, I get an unexpected surprise. Eragon comes sprinting into my latest gardening project, an herb garden next to the infirmary.

"Ciara!"

I look up at him, taking in his slightly disheveled appearance. "What? Are they in need of help already?"

Eragon smiles widely. "Nasuada and Orik are asking for us in the scrying hall. So this is either good news or very bad news."

"Retaining optimism are you?" I brush leaves off of my clothes and stand up. "Shall we go see what their Majesties want with the Dragon Riders?"

We run to the scrying hall, which is situated in the middle of our city. There are over a dozen main buildings, all built of white marble, and often towering over fifty feet high. The work is a hybridization of elven and dwarven architecture, which makes it both strong and study, as well as graceful and beautiful.

I walk in through the tall archway and see Thrynya watching over the scrying mirrors. She nods and steps away from the mirrors, taking up a position near the front entrance, giving us privacy with two of the leaders of Alagaesia.

Eragon sits himself in front of the mirrors and I stand behind him, watching carefully. Orik cracks a smile. "It is good to see you Eragon. You and Saphira are sorely missed in Farthen Dur."

"Much the same can be said for the rest of Alagaesia." Nasuada's smile is both warm and sad. "But more importantly, we have news for you."

Orik nods. "Approximately a week ago, a dragon hatched for the niece of grimstborith Iorunn of Durgrimst Vrenshrrgn." He shift in his seat. "She was here yesterday, but is now on her way to Hedarth, along with her dragon."

I touch Eragon's shoulder to keep him quiet. "We can have a boat sent to Hedarth to pick her up. "I look over to Nasuada. "Have you called for a similar reason?"

Nasuada's eyes sparkle. "Yes. A young man from Teirm managed to convince a dragon to hatch. It had taken two weeks to bring him here to Ilirea, but he has also left for Hedarth. He should be at Hedarth in a few days. Arya offered to have Firnen ferry them across the desert."

"We can send replacements for the two eggs that have hatched. We have a crew for a boat who also act as messengers and couriers." Eragon clasps his hands together. "So what kind of students are headed our way?"

Orik speaks first. "Kaevda of Durgrimst Vrenshrrgn. She is thirteen years old, very curious and already gifted with the ability to use magic. And like her aunt, she is very self-assured and confident. That aside, she is also very kind and down to earth."

"How about the boy from Teirm?" Eragon inquires. "Does he have any latent magical ability?"

"Not as far as I've heard." Nasuada explains. "His name is Valon, he is a shopkeeper's son, sixteen years old. His parents run a shop in Teirm that sells herbs and medicines, mostly to sailors. His mother has the ability to use magic, but he and his younger sister couldn't learn. As for his disposition, he seems sullen and withdrawn. But one of my guards witnessed him tending to a child's cuts and bruises after the child fell from a wagon."

"So he acts one way in public, but differently when he believes that no one is looking." It make me laugh a little, since he sounds much like Murtagh. "This should prove to be interesting."

"We will send out a boat immediately." Eragon gets to his feet. "Thank you for the good news. Unless there is anything else, I should go see to the preparations."

Nasuada shakes her head and smiles before disappearing from the mirror. Orik just smiles contentedly and also cuts the connection. Eragon looks at me and I smile. "Finally, our hard work is going to pay off."

"And let's hope that they want to learn, otherwise this is going to be a very difficult few months." Eragon smirks. "I know that I was a difficult student in Ellesmera. And now I get to be the teacher."

"So should we stick to our plan and teach them alternately?" I remind him of our training plan and he nods. "I think that would be best, since we specialize in very different areas."

And with that, Eragon runs off to prepare the boat and crew, as well as debrief them on their specific mission. And I go to the library to start pulling books on rules, regulations and the training requirements for completing an apprenticeship.


	2. Arrival

For three weeks, we wait for our new arrivals, and when the harbor's horn sounds, I race out of my garden and head towards the western coast, where an inlet leads to a natural harbor. The cliffs around the harbor are high, except for in one spot where they dip down, becoming a sandy beach.

When the ship is in sight, I slow down and walk down the hill, heading for the whitish gold sand. The boat pulls in at one of the docks, of which there are six. I watch as the boat docks and a bridge is placed from the deck to the dock.

The first to come off the boat are two elves, carrying traveling bags. Next is a small figure with a big fire colored form behind her. There is some running around, until the elves usher her toward me, and I see that the form is a bright red-orange dragon, about the size of a pony. As she walks towards me with one of the elves, she seems to be chattering incessantly.

When they reach me, the elf bows. "Shur'tugal, this is Kaevda of Durgrimst Vrenshrrgn, and her dragon Alkiria. I will leave the two of you to become acquainted. I will see that her things are delivered to the dwarven hall for her clan."

I nod. "Thank you. And the second?"

"Coming in a moment. He is reluctant, to say the least."

The elf departs, leaving me with this fascinating little dwarf. She looks up at me and as soon as she opens her mouth, I know that this is going to be a long day. "So are you going to take me to the teachers?"

I decide to make this funny, so I nod. "Yes I am. But you are going to have to wait for the other student."

"Then you needn't wait long." Yaela appears, escorting Valon and a purple dragon about the size of a small horse, which lopes around next to him. "Shall I report to Eragon?"

I shake my head. "I will escort the two of them myself. Thank you for your help." And as she hurries off, I turn my attention to the two students. "Well then, if you will follow me, I will take you to Eragon. I sure you would like to get acquainted with the ones who will be teaching you."

As we walk up the hill and over to the practice field, Kaedva decides to start asking questions. "When will Alkiria be big enough to fly on? When does she breathe fire? Are dragon bites poisonous?"

I laugh at her questions. "At about three months, she should be large enough to fly on, though you should get a saddle first. They breathe fire at about six months old. And no, usually, dragon bites are not poisonous. Though I wouldn't suggest trying to get one to bite you, since it hurts."

"Have you been bitten before?"

I roll my eyes. "We have two hundred dragon hatchlings on the island, all of them are wild. So yes, I've been bitten before. So has nearly everyone else."

"Have you ever seen the Riders actually flying?"

I hold back a laugh. "Of course I have. The two of them are flying around nearly every day."

"Do you think that they will like me?"

"I'm sure that you will be very welcome here. Especially since you two are the first students. No other eggs have hatched yet."

Valon finally speaks, and his voice is fairly mature, which fits his image, with his dark brown hair and pale eyes. "So Cidaal was the first dragon to hatch for a Rider after the pact was remade?"

I nod. "Yes, and Alkiria the second. Which means that there are six dragons bonded to Riders now. The others are Saphira, Firnen, Thorn and Sorin. Of all the dragons alive, Sorin is the oldest. He is nearly eight years old."

Kaevda's eyes start shining. "How big is he? Is he bigger than a house?"

"He is about the size of a two story house, plus the length of his neck and tail." And as I answer the question, I can finally see Eragon practicing with Blodhgarm.

"How many teachers are we going to have?" Valon asks in a mutter.

"Four. Two Riders and two dragons." I smile in anticipation. "Because our specialties are different." Valon and Kaevda stop in surprise. So I spin around and shout to the sky. "Sorin!"

And in a huge gust of wind, Sorin appears from the other side of the practice field. He soars low over the field and scoops me up, allowing me to climb up his back and into the saddle. He waits until I've strapped myself in before looping back around and landing in front of our students. And as is our way of doing things, he opens his mind for everyone to hear.

 _Hello to Valon, Kaevda, Alkiria and Cidaal. I am Sorin._ He lies down and holds his head above them so that he can get a good look at them. _It is good to see that you've made it here in one piece._ I undo my straps and slide off his back.

Valon stares at me in surprise. "You're a Rider? You don't look any older than I am."

I can't help smirking. "My name is Ciara, I am eighteen years old. And this is my partner, Sorin." I touch his head and he growls softly.

A roar echoes towards us. And in only a few moments Saphira appears over the trees. She lands powerfully next to Eragon, and the two tiny dragons look up at ours and seem to be amazed.

Eragon's expression is warm and bright as he looks at our two new apprentices. "Welcome to the four of you, my name is Eragon. I will be one of your teachers from now on."

Valon gapes, not even bothering to hide his shock. "But you're barely older than I am too!"

"Ahah…yes, that's true enough." Eragon takes the outburst in good stride, something that he must have learned from my grandfather. "In any case, now that you've arrived, you training will be starting soon. Rest up for tonight, because tomorrow, you'll be familiarizing yourselves with the island."

Kaevda squeals and jumps for joy. "Alkiria! Alkiria! We're starting training tomorrow!" She picks up her dragon in her arms, twirls around with it, and tumbles into the grass with her flailing ball of fiery orange scales.

Valon looks down at the scene with a bored expression. "Somehow, this is not what I expected when the elves packed me up and shipped me off."

"Were you expecting tall stone towers, dragons everywhere, and old and experienced masters?" I smirk at this student who has not at all understood the point of being here. "Because if you want to see tall stone towers, then I can take you to the city. And there are wild dragons in the mountains that tower over the city, so I can also take you to see them. But I would be careful if I were you, they really do bite."

He regards me sourly. "I'm fine, I'll be seeing everything tomorrow anyway."

His obstinacy makes me laugh. _Oh Eragon, we're going to have our work cut out for us now…And I thought that putting that city together was difficult._ I press at my friend's mind with my wry comment.

He presses back at my mind almost immediately. _You know that you'll love it. Besides, now we can try out some of those training ideas that we had._

 _True. The next few months are going to be very interesting…_

Very interesting indeed…


	3. Orientation

I wake up at the crack of dawn, like usual. I would often wake up early when Oromis was training me. He always insisted that an early start would make for a good day. But luckily for me, I wasn't tortured with a timed buzzing acorn like Eragon every morning.

While I get ready for the day ahead, a powerful and familiar presence presses against my mind. I smile as I lower the barriers around my mind, which I build on instinct whenever I'm drowsy or half-awake. _Good morning._

 _Good morning, Ciara. Did you sleep well?_ The deep rumble of Sorin's voice is as comforting to me as it's ever been.

 _Very well. Though I'm rather excited. Today, we'll be showing the city to the new apprentices. I know that Eragon has been hoping for quite some time that we would have some students. And now he's gotten his wish._

Sorin's rumbling laughter shakes the house slightly, reminding me that he's lounging upstairs. _I can't wait to see what Saphira thinks of the little two-legs and the new fire-breathers._

I chuckle and shake my head. _Just do your best not to step on anyone._

 _I haven't done that since you were twelve years old, and that was an accident. You were too small._

 _And now you're even bigger, which makes you an even greater hazard than you used to be._ I shudder at the memory of the one time that Sorin stepped on me. Luckily, I'd already started learning how to heal, so it could have been a lot worse.

I climb up the stairs of my house, and com out on the roof, where Sorin is lounging in the morning sun. "Alright you insufferable lizard, we have apprentices to horrify."

 _Will we be taking our newest endeavor for a test flight then? I think that this would be the perfect opportunity for you to finally show Eragon what he's been pestering you about for three months._

I freeze, taking in exactly what Sorin is suggesting. _That is a wonderful idea. And it will also solve the problem of their dragons being too small for them to ride._ My eyes drift to the ground next to Sorin, and I smirk. _And I see that you've already gotten it out, good. Now we just need to get it on you._

 _Use magic, I will provide the strength for the spell._ His mind presses against mine, and his strength flows into me. I point my hand at the recently finished saddle. "Reisa." It rises into the air, hovering obediently, before slowly moving towards Sorin. He's grown a lot over the last few years, so I designed this saddle with his increased size in mind. Now, he is more than strong enough to carry multiple people on long flights.

The saddle finally floats into the correct position, and following my hand, it sinks through the air, settling onto Sorin's back, right between the largest gap in his spikes. With the hardest part finished, I weave around and under him, fastening all of the knots and buckles that hold the saddle in place. It takes several minutes and a lot of tugging to make sure that everything is securely fastened.

 _Is it uncomfortable at all, Sorin?_

He shakes his large head and shifts his legs, adjusting the front straps himself by sliding them closer to his joints. _No, it fits perfectly. And why wouldn't it? We both worked long and hard on getting the leather to sit as close to my scales as possible. It is a masterpiece, and I think Oromis would be proud._

 _I hope so._ I climb up Sorin's side, using the built in steps to climb the saddle like a ladder. I settle myself in the smaller section at the front of the saddle, which is designed to hold me specifically. All of the fastenings are custom fitted for me. Behind me is a larger, circular part to the saddle, where I can carry passengers. And built in to that part is a thin membrane that can be pulled over the top of the saddle to provide protection from sudden drops in air pressure, or rain. Loops and buckles line the sides of the saddle, meant for holding in passengers if I have to make complicated maneuvers that would normally throw them out of the saddle.

Sorin takes off from the roof, which has been reinforced with magic to allow the safe landing and takeoff of dragons, even ones that are Sorin's size. The lightening sky is a pale blue, and small streaks of pink are still leaving it, making way for a bright day with clear skies that will make for perfect flying.

Sorin tilts his course slightly, heading straight for the practice field, where Eragon is planning to start the tour of the island. And my emerald companion hums happily as the cool air brushes his scales. _Ciara, do you remember when you and Eragon discussed weather patterns over the island?_

 _I do. Why?_

 _Do you think that with the right spells, it might be possible to control the climate around the island? That way, there would never be any worry about heavy rain or storms falling on the island._

 _You want us to change the weather?_ I stop myself and contemplate that notion for a minute. _Well, I suppose that if we could come up with the right spells…but the amount of energy that it would take would be enormous!_

 _What about that notion of taking energy from the sun, the way that the plants do?_

 _If we could do that, then we would never have to worry about running out of energy ever again. Unfortunately, as the most experienced herbalist on the island, I would probably be the first to be able to work out such a spell. And as I haven't done it yet, I doubt any others have either. Perhaps I will be able to pursue the subject with the apprentices. But for now, we have four students who need to get acquainted with this place._

 _Then let us go meet them._ Sorin turns his snout towards the ground and goes into a steep dive, hurtling towards the ground, before suddenly spreading his wings and buffeting our audience with strong gusts of wind. He hovers for a moment, before landing with a loud thud, right in the middle of the practice field.

I slide out of the saddle and dance lightly over to Eragon, smiling at his shocked face. "Are you surprised? I did tell you that I was working on a new saddle design. But you wouldn't stop asking me about it, so I decided to keep it secret until it was finished." I gesture up to the saddle on Sorin's back. "Well, it's finished!"

"It's huge!"

I stifle a laugh as his outburst rings through the clearing. "Yes, it's a large saddle. Sorin is strong enough to carry several people, so I decided to build a saddle that would allow him to do just that." I turn to the two sleepy looking apprentices and smile. "Which means that the two of you will be riding with me on our aerial tour of the island."

Kaevda starts squealing immediately. "We're going flying! Can Alkiria come too!?"

"Of course." I climb back up Sorin's side, and stop about halfway up the saddle. "I also added a little something to make mounting and dismounting easier for passengers." I pull on one of the leather ties that holds up what looks like a saddlebag. But when it unfurls, small metal hooks click together to give shape to a metal and leather framework, that extends into a sturdy staircase. "The apprentices may now take their seats. And there are straps in the saddle for anyone who feels worried about falling out. If anyone does fall out, rest assured that Sorin and I will catch you."

Kaevda eagerly picks up her bundle of scales and nearly trips over herself as she climbs up to the saddle. I glance at Valon, who rolls his eyes. "Fine." He walks to the stairs and climbs them hesitantly. His dragon, on the other hand, flaps its wings and flies up Sorin's side and lands in the saddle, beating his Rider up there.

I chuckle at the sight of the apprentices trying to make themselves comfortable up there. But it's time to go, and Eragon is already strapping himself into Saphira's saddle. So I run up Sorin's side, fold the stairs back up, and continue up his side, until I'm firmly seated in the front of the saddle, and securely strapped in.

I smile at the open sky. "Alright, let's go!" And Sorin takes off into the sky, launching himself into the vast blue canvas and gaining altitude with every second.

Kaevda squeals behind me, and I notice that Valon looks like he's going to be sick. _Oh well, he'll get used to it._ Eragon flies past on Saphira, and signals for me to follow him. So Sorin banks slightly, and we fly off towards the city.

As we soar over the huge stone city, I worm my way into Kaevda and Valon's minds. _I'm going to show you the buildings now, so that you'll know where to go if you need something._ We swoop over the easter half of the city and I project images into their minds. _Over there is the armory, which is right next to the blacksmith's workshop. North of those is the library, and to the south are some of the gardens. We grow vegetables and herbs there._

Eragon sneaks his way into our conversation as well. _And in the back of the castle you see over to the north, there is a tunnel that leads deep into the mountains. That is where we keep the dragon eggs until they hatch. We usually have about two or three of them hatching every month. There are sixty-three wild dragons, and now four bonded dragons on the island._

Sorin swoops over the castle on his way to the western side of the city. _In the middle of the city is the place where we will hold meetings with foreign dignitaries, should they decide to come and speak to us in a formal capacity. The Riders of old would often be approached by various kings and queens in order to settle disputes, so we have built a place of our own to be used for exactly that._

 _Ciara Ebrithil, Eragon Ebrithil said that we could choose new places to live. Where are those places?_ Valon's priorities obviously seem to revolve around practical needs. I can't blame him, but he could still afford to be less impatient.

 _They are at the south end of the city. For now, let us continue with the west side. Here, we have the buildings that are dedicated to the study of the natural world, as well as magic, and the building to the far south, with the dome on top, that is the Scrying Hall, where we hold conversations over long distances._

 _The Scrying Hall is how we learned so quickly of the two of you. King Orik and Queen Nasuada contacted us some time ago about the two of you._ How Eragon and Saphira can roll through the air and still maintain a perfect connection and calm conversation is beyond me. Not because I can't do it, but because I didn't think that Eragon could. His mind has a tendency to…wander.

 _Yes, now, if we move further south, you will see that in the southern half of the city, we built thirteen stone halls, each one adorned with the crest of one of the thirteen dwarf clans. These are the dwellings where our dwarven Riders are invited to stay. There are wood and stone cabins just to the west of the stone halls, if there are any who want to have their own homes, there is no race restriction in the cabins. And finally, south of the city, there are homes fashioned from the trees. They are in the style of the alfakyn, the elves, but if either of you would like to live there instead of in the city, you are free to do so._

 _I want to live in my clan's hall!_ Kaevda's response is immediate, and not unexpected. Her reaction is exactly why we built the clan halls in the first place.

 _Of course, you may move into the hall whenever you like. And what about you Valon? Do you want a cabin in the city? Or would you prefer a home outside the city, in the trees?_

At first, he stays quiet, which tells me that Nasuada was right in her assessment, he is a very quiet boy. _I think that I would rather live outside the city. I find cities to be a bit too cramped. And Cidaal wants to be able to fly around and perch wherever he wants._

 _Fair enough. There are plenty of homes to choose from, so you may wander around and find one that you like. My home is in the forest, further east. We will hold lessons there four times a week, in the afternoons._ I glance up at Eragon, who has finally come back into view. _Do you have anything to add?_

He grins down at me. _I think you've covered most of it. We can show them the rest of the island during their training._

Only now do I realize that we've actually been flying most of the morning. Time flies when you're flying on a dragon. _Then let's land. They'll need to spend this afternoon finding and getting used to their new accommodations. We can start the lessons tomorrow._

 _Then tomorrow morning, I want to see the four of you at the practice field for physical examinations. And you can have them in the afternoon for an introduction to the finer arts._

 _Fair enough._ I give Sorin a nudge, and he turns back towards the city. _I will take Kaevda to her clan hall, and Valon to the forest._

 _Then I will go to the Scrying Hall. Nasuada and Orik will be looking for reports on how these four are doing._ Saphira turns away from Sorin, heading to the west, while we head east.

A few minutes later, we land briefly, and I help Kaevda to dismount. But she doesn't stay in sight very long, since she rushes straight for the hall with her clan's crest on it, and disappears into the enormous stone structure.

We take off again briefly, and this flight is much quieter. Valon doesn't seem to be the talkative type. Or maybe he just needs a chance to warm up to us. Either way, he's not very keen on conversing much right now.

Sorin lands in a clearing in the middle of the woods, and I dismount first, expecting to have to pull out the stairs for Valon. But instead of waiting for me to get to the stairs, Valon slides out of the saddle, down Sorin's leg, and lands quite skillfully on the ground. "Thank you for the flight Ebrithil."

He surprises me a little with his gratitude, but a small smile finds its way to my face. "You are very welcome. Now, we are near the center of the forest homes, so feel free to wander and pick one. And be sure to report for practice with Eragon in the morning."

He bows stiffly, and turns away from me, Cidaal hopping along behind him as he disappears into the trees. I glance at my partner and sigh. _It looks like we have our work cut out for us._

 _It would seem so._


	4. First Lessons

**Sorry for not updating, it's been a crazy month. I've had three midterms, five quizzes, four assignments, three essays, four seminars and two discussion classes. Meaning, a whole hell of a lot of homework. Plus, I wrote an 80k word novel for National Novel Writing Month. It's been rough, but finals are coming up, which means that I should have a lot more time to write. I've got a scrapbook project to finish over the weekend, but I'm going to get a chapter up for both stories.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

As agreed, for the first day of training, Eragon takes Kaevda and Valon for the morning. That leaves me some free time to work in my garden. My latest project has involved trying to cross-breed plants in order to make their effects more potent.

Sorin eventually comes down from his flight, not that I made him do it, he just hates to be away from me for too long. He lands lightly in the clearing behind my house and creeps up on me. Well, as much as an enormous dragon can creep up on anything.

 _Have you finished playing with your plants?_

I roll my eyes at the start of an argument we've had a million times. _I'm not playing with these plants, as you well know. I'm trying to coax them into growing stronger. I want them to produce better medicines when I harvest them. Because as you well know, we still haven't figured out how to counteract some of the effects of the local poisonous plants on the island._

 _Ah, yes. Those plants that made me itchy the first month here._

 _Yes, the ones that nearly had you rubbing and scratching all of your scales off. Thankfully, I managed to stop you before you did too much damage._

 _Mmm…it still took me a month and a half to grow those scales back…_

I roll my eyes at my partner's antics. He's never been a particularly cautious soul, but even a child could have told him that eating a strange plant, no matter how sweet it smells, is a bad idea if you don't know if it's poisonous or not.

"Over here!" A shrill squeal assaults my ears, and I resist the urge to cover my ears and block out the noise. I turn to see Kaevda pulling Valon along, heading straight for my house. "It's time for class with Ciara Ebrithil!"

Valon looks like he wants to go to bed, and he tugs his hand out of Kaevda's grip. "Why are we going to her house? For all we know, she might not even be there."

"But Eragon Ebrithil said that she would be at her house, or in her garden. She's expecting us!"

I chuckle lightly at the little girl's enthusiasm. And I brush lightly against their minds. _Come to the garden, I'm tending to my plants right now. And try not to be so loud, I could hear you approaching the house._

Kaevda looks around excitedly, before spotting me in the garden. She nearly trips over herself, and her dragon, as she sprints over to my special haven. "Ebrithil! You'll never guess what Eragon Ebrithil taught us!"

I laugh lightly, since I can very well imagine what Eragon might have taught them. But I play dumb anyway. "Oh, and what did Eragon teach you on your first day?"

In her excitement, it seems that she's completely forgotten the reason that she came looking for me in the first place. But it's good to see her taking such an interest in her lessons, so I'll let her get her feelings out before getting the two of them started on the difficult things. "He taught us the different parts of a sword, and the different ways of fighting, and he taught us about dragons and how they grow, and he told us stories about how he and Saphira grew up together. Then he showed us this thing called the Dance of the Snake and Crane, and he let us fight him with wooden sticks."

I sigh a little. _Well, he certainly covered all of the easy topics. I guess that leaves me with the harder topics._ "Alright, that sounds like a good morning. Did Eragon tell you that I would be teaching you some of the harder things?"

She nods, then pouts. "But what does he mean by hard? Are we going to have to fight something? I so want to fight something…"

It's an interesting question, since I found this exercise to be quite a struggle at first. "Well, I suppose you could say that you'll be fighting something. But you won't be using a sword, you will be using your mind." I glance at Valon and motion for him to join us. "Both of you will be doing meditation exercises. And before you ask, yes, there is a point to doing meditation exercises. Even if it seems pointless, you will appreciate it once it comes time for you to put those skills into practice." Laying out the truth for them now is the best course of action. I know very well that Eragon was frustrated with the pointlessness of it at first, and that he didn't try nearly as hard as he could have as a result. So, I decide to err on the side of caution, and tell them that it will be a benefit to them, that way they won't be so keen to neglect their training.

Valon already looks bored. "Meditation is fine, but how is it going to benefit us? Shouldn't we be learning about our dragons, and how to fight?"

I frown lightly at him. _Oh, I know what kind of problems I'm going to have with this one…he's going to be an impatient one who wants to skip all of the steps and jump to the top of the staircase. If only it were that easy…_ "This meditation will open your mind to your surroundings, and will grant you advantages that will become apparent later. It is also a required training that all Riders must go through. I did it, and so did Eragon. Though he had more trouble than I did, on account of his restlessness. I hope that I won't have the same problems here with the two of you."

Kaevda looks at me eagerly. "What kind of skills are we going to learn from it? Will we get to see like dragons? Alkiria told me that she sees in lots of red colors, but I don't see reds as well as her. Will I get to see like her?"

I laugh and smile at the child. "Perhaps. But you have to get to the end of the training before the results become obvious. Now, there are a couple of mossy rocks over there by the river, why don't the two of you each pick one, and sit down to meditate. Remember to open your mind, and you must sit there until you hear no more."

Valon frowns at me. "Hear no more? What is that supposed to mean?"

I smirk at the boy. "Exactly what I said. Sit there until there is nothing left for you to hear. Listen until you hear everything."

"I'll do it!" Kaevda springs up and spins around. "I'll finish it quickly! Then we can move on to the next lesson."

Her enthusiasm amuses me, but she has no idea what's in store for her. "Alright Kaevda. If you can listen until there is nothing left for you to hear, then I will allow you to move on to the next lesson. But don't think that this is an easy lesson. When you're finished, tell me everything that you heard, and I'll tell you if you've done it properly or not." I glance at Valon, and he stalks off to sit on the rock as I turn my eyes back to Kaevda. "Now run along. And be sure to sit there for a while. It's going to take a lot longer than simply a few minutes."

"Okay!" She spins around and starts to run off towards the river, before stopping and turning back to me. "Oh, and everyone calls me Kaea, so you can too, Ebrithil!"

"Kaea it is, then." And my smile grows just a little brighter as I watch her run off to the river to start on her latest task. Little do the two of them know, this is going to be a lot harder than they think it is.


End file.
